It’s back! Tokyo Ghoul had an amazing 2014, and the anime (despite certain liberties it took) was responsible for that. A follow-up made absolute sense, considering its huge success. But what really sparked my interest is that Sui Ishida, the mangaka, will be doing the writing for this new season. Deliberately deviating from the manga, he’ll be creating an alternate verse. A brilliant idea in my opinion. Let’s see if Ishida, in conjunction with Studio Pierrot, manages to take this winter season by storm!

Synopsis
Picking up right where we left off last season, the assault on Aogiri Tree’s alleged base continues. Yamori, also known as “Jason”, is no more as Kaneki dons his mask to enter the fray. Elsewhere, violent blows are being exchanged between the Owl and the quinque-wielding investigators. Shinohara and Iwa take the lead, pushing their Arata prototypes to the limit. But the Owl doesn’t budge as he talks down to them with absolute authority.

Touka is about to kick the bucket when Kaneki intervenes to save her from her bloodthirsty brother, Ayato. Kaneki not only outclasses Ayato as a ghoul. He manages to mess with Ayato’s psyche by questioning his reasons for joining Aogiri. But Noro snatches Ayato as the whole place comes crumbling down. A trap engineered by Aogiri Tree claims the lives of many investigators, rendering the raid useless.

Kaneki and Touka meet again, but their reunion is short-lived. In a dramatic twist of events, Kaneki announces his departure from Anteiku and his defection to Aogiri Tree. Leaving everything behind, he joins their ranks before the credits start rolling.

Thoughts
Wow. As I stated earlier, Tokyo Ghoul had an amazing year, and it shows. The budget increase was made very apparent in this episode’s animation. More fluidity in the fights, consistent and detailed character designs even for characters placed far away… Lots of eye candy. But what I’m probably most pleased about is the lack of censorship. And it’s not that there wasn’t any grotesque content. There really weren’t any awkward black screens like the ones that plagued the first season.

Well played by Aogiri Tree. They ended up winning this one. But their accomplishments didn’t stop at completely trolling the investigators. Recruiting Kaneki is a big deal and we’re left wondering what Kaneki’s intentions are. Regardless, Kaneki’s decision is where the anime starts deviating from the manga. It goes without saying that I’m eager to know where we go from here.

Hopefully it’ll turn out to be an alternate route both manga readers and anime-only fans can appreciate. But as of right now, I’m satisfied. Great way to start the season.

Episode 1: Faith

THUMBS UP!

IMPRESSIONS VERDICT:
Great!

Pros:

Continuity (no skips, connected with the previous season)

Upgraded animation

No censorship

Cons:

None

Impressions are based on a single episode and don’t necessarily reflect the series as a whole. Unless dropped, we will continue to give updates on thoughts and impressions of the series as time goes by.

By offering anime and manga reviews, Ernest aims to cater to the needs of the geeky masses. After having written for various platforms including KissAnime, and with a perspective backed by a plethora of content, he now lends his writing skills to OtakuSpirit.

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